Sudden Death
by MaplePucks
Summary: Matthew is going to miss playing in the annual April Fools hockey game due to a broken arm. Lucky... or unluckily for him, his brother steps in to take his place. This has got to be some sort of a joke right? Alfred is terrible at hockey!
**Hello! I know, it's past April Fools day but hey, that's alright. I have this fic here for you! A little prank between brothers, what could be bad about that?**

 **Enjoy, comment, fave! Thank you!**

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The April Fools Day home town hockey was always one of Matthew's favorites to play in. All the players wore funny costumes and they'd fake out the other team, pretending to be terrible when in reality everyone knew they were the best in the league. They'd let them get up in points, were even the fans were concerned that they were going to lose. And then they would always snatch it back, winning in the last quarter. It was exciting. It was entertaining. It was fun.

Matthew couldn't believe he was missing it this year.

A broken arm had sidelined him this go around, a injured in a game last week. Brute came out of no where and slammed Matthew _hard_ against the glass. Snapped his arm like a twig and that put him out of the running. It had hurt, but his team had given the guy a thrashing for punishment. He couldn't have asked for a better team.

Perhaps he owed his team a lot more then he first thought. For this particular game, his team had allowed his brother, Alfred, to take his place. This was going to be a disaster. He just knew it. There would be no joke about this game.

Not that his brother didn't know how to play. He did, Matthew had painstakingly taught him. But his brother's skills were raw, unrefined and brutish. Hockey required a kind of graceful strength and forcefulness that his bull in a China shop brother lacked. Matthew's team didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

His brother came out onto the ice dressed like a court jester, which Matthew thought was kind of appropriate given the circumstances. Sitting up in the stands felt so weird, even weirder seeing his little brother wear his jersey number over the costume, skating onto the ice. It was going to be a long game.

And it started off as terribly as Matthew had imagined it would. The other team took possession of the puck right off the bat which meant bad news for the home team. Within the first five minutes, the away team had scored and Matthew groaned with the rest of the crowd. Though he couldn't help but feel they were groaning just to groan. The atmosphere was a happy, joyful one. Not one of defeat. Poor fans, Matthew thought. They still thought it was an April Fools joke. Joke was on them.

To his teams credit, they didn't let the loss of a defense-man drag them down too much. They made up for Alfred's faults on the ice, his clumsy, awkward way of handling the puck, his trips and falls over his skates, Matthew's team handled them all well. But the hockey team they were up against this year, well, they were real competitors. For every defensive move Matthew's team managed to make, the away team hit back with two offensive moves. A nail biter match to be sure.

It was fourth quarter. Matthew's team had managed to keep the other team from scoring in the last quarter, bringing the score to 4-3, away team. All they needed was two points. That was it to win the game! Matthew was starting to believe they had a chance. It looked real enough, if they could just keep their defense up and keep them from scoring.

Matthew couldn't believe his eyes as he watched his brother in this last quarter. He zipped and zoomed across the ice, weaving and dodging between players like he had been doing it for years. His puck handling dramatically improved and he was playing more like the professional player they all aspired to be. The other players actually passed him the puck, something they had been afraid to do all game, and Alfred played each pass very well. It was like a completely different player on the ice and the crowd reflected the change too. They marveled at Alfred every bit as much as Matthew did.

Alfred even scored a goal!

Down to the wire, the score was tied up and there was a minute and a half left of regulation play. Matthew was on the edge of his seat, banging his cast against the seat in front of him, cheering with the rest of the crowd. They had a real chance to go into over time, which was exciting! A brief time out was called by the home team and Matthew could hardly stand still. This was it, the final seconds. Playing them always got his blood pumping. Now, it was pounding through his veins. A win, bring home a win!

Twenty five seconds left on the game clock and tragedy struck on the ice.

Matthew was high enough in the stands to see it all unfold. His brother Alfred had the puck and was charging down the ice to make the final score that would end the game once and for all. Out of no where, the other team surrounded him and closed in. Too close, far too close, the ref should have blown a whistle, something! A player stuck his hockey stick out and Alfred's legs got tangled, causing him to smash to the ice. But that wasn't the worst of it, several other players were brought crashing down as well. They were bigger then Alfred and they all landed on top of him. Skates and men were in a jumbled heap, sliding across the ice.

Like everyone else, Matthew was standing to get a better view of the tangled mess. Referees and medics rushed the ice, a smear of blood already visible from were the pile had started sliding to where it ended. The whole stadium, including Matthew was holding their breaths and by the time they unearthed Alfred in the center of the mess, Matthew let his out in a cry of worry.

His brother lay crumpled in a ball, beaten and bruised, hardly moving at all, with a large puddle of blood forming steadily underneath him. Matthew wasted no time and bolted himself out of the stands, towards the ice. He was there in a flash, slipping and sliding in effort to get to his brother.

"Alfred! Alfred, are you alright?!" He screamed. He dropped to his knees in front of Alfred but Matthew could tell it was too late. A skate had cut a large gash across his throat. Alfred was gone, the life draining out his before Matthew's very eyes. Tears welled up and Matthew was just about to let out a huge sob, touching his brother's face with a shaking hand, when his brother's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up.

"April Fools, Mattie! I'm perfectly fine!" Alfred smiled. His hands were covered in blood, he looked a mess and all Matthew could do was blink in astonishment. What the heck had just happened? The gash, he clearly saw the gash across his brother's neck. That's wasn't a joke, it wasn't... possible for him to be laughing like that. Matthew could only gape and point at Alfred for a long few moments.

"W-what... ?"

Alfred laughed harder and team members from both teams hoisted them onto their feet. "All an elaborate prank, my bro! Even the other team was in on it. They felt bad you had to miss the game so we came up with this." He peeled the prosthetic gash off his neck and showed his brother the bag of fake blood hidden under his pads. The teams were laughing, the crowd-though a little perturbed at the delay-was laughing too. The only one that wasn't laughing was Matthew. He was looking horrified, crying hard, he reared back his fist. The punch he gave Alfred was sub-par and turned into a hug.

"Why would you ever think that was funny?! Seeing my little brother die on the ice?! That's your idea of a joke?! That's not funny!" He cried hugging him tight. He heard Alfred chuckle and start leading him off the ice.

"Alright. Alright. Not a good prank. Come on, let's go get ready for overtime. You can come to the locker room with us." Alfred said, rubbing his back.

"You guys suck. You guys all suck."

His team and Alfred laughed lightly. Worst April Fools day ever. He'd get Alfred back for that prank.

Somehow.


End file.
